Monday July 28, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — China has condemned a recent maritime agreement between Taiwan and Somaliland, accusing both parties of violating international law and engaging in a “self-deceiving” attempt to seek statehood through unofficial diplomacy.
The agreement, signed during a visit by a senior Somaliland official to Taiwan, pledges bilateral cooperation to strengthen Somaliland’s Coast Guard and expand blue economy initiatives. Taiwan has committed to supporting training, equipment, and technical capacity-building in coastal defence.
In a statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in Somalia, Beijing accused Somaliland and Taiwan of colluding to achieve political legitimacy, warning that such cooperation undermines China’s sovereignty and ignores international consensus.
“The Somaliland regional authority’s action has blatantly violated the one-China principle and harmed China's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity,” the embassy said. “The Chinese side is resolutely opposed to this action.”
Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and has never been, and never will be, a sovereign nation.
“There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is never a country, not in the past, and never in the future,” the statement read.
“It is self-deceiving that the Taiwan authority colludes with the Somaliland regional authority to seek political gains, which will not stop the inevitable reunification of China,” the statement added.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, is not recognized by the federal government in Mogadishu or any member state of the United Nations. Similarly, Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, is excluded from most international organizations, including the UN.
Despite this, both governments have cultivated closer ties in recent years, establishing representative offices in their respective capitals and signing agreements in education, health, and now maritime security.
The Chinese Embassy urged Hargeisa to reverse course, framing the deal as a threat to regional stability.
“We urge the Somaliland regional authority to have the basic sense about the reality and refrain from running against the historical trend, so as to free itself from self-inflicted consequences,” the statement said.
China cited several international legal instruments to justify its stance, including the 1943 Cairo Declaration and 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, which declared that territories seized by Japan during World War II—including Taiwan—must be returned to China. It also referenced UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, adopted in 1971, which recognized the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government of China and expelled Taiwan from the UN.
“Such documents formed an integral part of the post-WWII international order and affirmed Taiwan’s status as China’s inalienable territory from a legal perspective,” the embassy stated.
Somaliland and Taiwan have defended their relationship as one rooted in shared democratic values, asserting their right to conduct foreign relations as self-governing entities.